The drive to reduce water dependency without making concessions to the game and game experience has seen the International Hockey Federation (FIH) winning the 2024 IOC Climate Action Award in the International Federation category.
The award was revealed at a ceremony held in New York, USA, on the occasion of UN Climate Week.
Together with the synthetic turf industry, FIH is working to develop Dry Turf, a new product category that reduces the amount of water needed for elite hockey pitches. FIH claims that this new technology has already led to a 40% reduction of water used between the London 2012 Olympics and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. A further 20% reduction was anticipated for the event in Paris this year.
The ultimate aim is to replace the approximately 2,000 water-based artificial hockey pitches globally with dry turfs, saving approximately 7.6 billion litres of water per year.
Self-wetting ball
FIH is also developing other innovative solutions including “self-wetting balls” that release water at the point of contact between the ball, the surface and the stick, to enable the sport to be played at the highest level on dry turf.
The first self-wetting ball was introduced early in 2023 and developed by Ghent University.
FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “We are extremely honoured and grateful to receive this very high distinction from the International Olympic Committee. It is also a strong encouragement for us, since it expresses the gratitude of the highest body in world sport and the Olympic movement for the efforts that we have undertaken to reduce the impact on the environment generated by the practice of our sport.
“On behalf of FIH, and in my personal name, I would like to express our utmost gratitude to the IOC. I would also like to extend our sincerest thanks to all the providers and suppliers that are part of our FIH Quality Programme, and in particular, our Global Supplier Polytan, for their commitment. Without them, it would not be possible to achieve the sustainability goals that we have set ourselves.”